Category: Bitcoin

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Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Crypto News

Green Bitcoin Initiatives Springing Up After Elon’s Twitter Rampage

Following Tesla’s suspension of Bitcoin payments due to energy implications, there have been many responses from the industry showing that the network can be operated in a more sustainable way.

After pinning the suspension of Bitcoin payments to its excessive power consumption in a tweet, the announcement sparked a Bitcoin (BTC) sell-off that dropped close to 13% of its value in 24 hours.

This could raise questions affecting the image of cryptos in the public eye, so various players in the industry have come forward to show that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies can be more environmentally friendly. For starters, the energy required to mine does not necessarily come from non-renewable sources. There are also other cryptocurrencies that use less electricity than Bitcoin (even at scale), thanks to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) or other consensus algorithms needing less computational power to function.

Green Changes Submitted To Enhance Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work Algorithm

Michael Dubrovsky, co-founder of Siphox and Powx, revealed that the nonprofit Powx has drafted a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) that aims to produce a “durable, low energy” Bitcoin Proof-of-Work (PoW) system.

The paper details how the algorithm, dubbed “Optical Proof-of-Work (OPOW)”, could greatly reduce energy dependency by leveraging photonics.

There are changes that can be implemented to the Bitcoin protocol to make it less energy-hungry however, due to its decentralised nature, upgrading it can be a lengthy process.

Bitcoin Mine in New York Going Carbon Neutral

Greenidge Generation, a New York-based bitcoin mining operation, has announced that they will be carbon neutral by the start of June following the media storm that concerned many people about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining.

Greenidge’s real estate is 150 acres in size and has an on-site and a power plant capable of generating over 100MW of clean energy an hour. The plant uses natural gas to generate electricity running at high levels of thermodynamic efficiency, thus lowering the cost of producing power.

The Greenridge Natural Gas Power Station
The Greenridge Natural Gas Power Station [Twitter]

We are demonstrating we can provide the same critical transaction verification and processing services to secure the bitcoin network while maintaining a fully carbon neutral footprint. We call on others to join us in significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions now.

Jeffrey Kirt, CEO of Greenidge Generation Holdings [source]
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Australia Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies DeFi

Sydney DeFi Project Marhaba To Provide Islamic Finance Using Ethical Practices

Based out of Sydney, a new DeFi platform called Marhaba will be working to explore ways to bring decentralised finance to over 2 billion Muslims in a way that does not contradict Islamic laws on usury and investments.

Marhaba – which means “Welcome” in Arabic – is a new DeFi platform started by Naquib Mohammed, after noting the moral dilemmas many Muslims face when thinking about getting into cryptocurrency.

“We are building a platform that aims at the inclusively of the community and a trusted place where faith-conscious Muslims can be onboarded without any hesitation or doubt.”

Solving Religious And Moral Dilemmas

Set of Elegant Ramadan Kareem Lantern or Colorful Lights in Islamic Pattern

Since Islam prohibits high-interest loans, aggressive derivatives and excessively risky investments, one can see how cryptocurrency may put devout Muslims in a bit of a pickle when considering whether to get into crypto and decentralized finance.

“In the Muslim countries, we found that 99% of the time, people ask: ‘Is this token Halal? Is this token Shariah-compliant?’ […] Question number two is: ‘Where do you buy this? The reason that Bitcoin is still under discussion by some scholars in the Islamic ecosystem is because nobody knows who the creator of Bitcoin is. If you don’t know who created it — that means the thing is under doubt.”

Additionally, artistic depictions can also be tricky to deal with due to religious laws concerning idolatry. However, as anyone familiar with mosques such as Nasir al-Mulk in Shiraz can tell you, abstract patterns are fair game – which allows for the creation of NFTs that do not conflict with Sharia Law.

Marhaba Finance aims to solve both of these issues by collaborating with Islamic scholars to create their platform according to the precepts of Islamic law. They will also launch a non-custodial “Sahal” wallet, which will allow for transfers and custody of “Shariah-screened NFTs and tokens”.

Ethical Wallet and Trading Platform

According to the whitepaper, the project will launch in 2021 both a “Sahal Wallet” and Ethical Trading Platform and other features through the Marhaba Decentralized Financial Platform (MDFP).

The project will launch the $MRHB ERC-20 token using Ethereum with a supply of 500 million tokens (see the whitepaper for token allocation).

The NFT marketplace is scheduled for launch later this year. With a sharia-compliant version of yield farming will also be coming to the platform – as well as ways to donate to charity, fulfilling another obligation to the five pillars of Islam.

The project is also supported by Blockchain Australia and Neo Legal to assist with crypto regulations.

Read more about Marhaba on LinkedIn.

Get involved on the Marhaba DeFi interest Form.

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Australia Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrency Law

Australian Programmer Claims To Be Satoshi and Opens A$7.4B Lawsuit

Craig Wright is in the news again, this time with his ongoing court case to get access to 111,000 Bitcoin (over $7 Billion AUD) held in two digital addresses – he claims the private keys were “stolen” earlier this year.

The Australian computer scientist who now lives in the UK, claims he is Satoshi Nakamoto who created Bitcoin, and has launched a London high court lawsuit against 16 Bitcoin Core software developers in an effort to secure his “lost” Bitcoins.

“Our client has always maintained that he created Bitcoin to operate within existing laws and that in the event of loss or theft, where legitimate ownership can be proven, the developers have a duty to ensure recovery,”

Paul Ferguson, lawyer representing Wright

The case is largely centred on who wrote Bitcoin’s whitepaper, which first outlined the vision of Bitcoin and was published under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008.

It does seems odd, that a person so deliberately private and anonymous would suddenly feel the need to burst into the spotlight and claim the title as the great Creator of Bitcoin.

Reached by email, Cobra from Bitcoin.org said:

“We’ve been threatened to take down the Bitcoin whitepaper by someone who obviously isn’t the inventor of Bitcoin (if he was, that would make him the 25th richest person in the world, which he obviously isn’t).

Cobra

It remains to be seen if the courts will decide in favour of these seemingly absurd and highly controversial claims. It smells a bit like the old classic, “the dog ate my homework”. If you can’t prove it, then you don’t own it. The true power of the blockchain is that it is so beautifully open and transparent.

If Craig Wright really is Satoshi Nakamoto, could he retrace the breadcrumbs and provide real evidence to back up his claims?

Stay tunes to see how this court battle pans out.

Related news:

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Bitcoin Crypto News Payments

Tesla Stops Accepting Bitcoin As Payment For Cars

Tesla Stops Accepting Bitcoin As Payment For Cars

The world’s renowned electric automobile company Tesla has stopped accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment option for its vehicles, citing the environmental impact of the energy used in maintaining the network.

Tesla is Concerned About Bitcoin’s Intensive Energy Usage

The founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, recently shared the notice, wherein the company asserted that more fossil fuels are being burned as energy for mining Bitcoin. Hence, they decided to discontinue the Bitcoin payment option, as Tesla is keener on the improvement of the planetary condition. 

Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels, and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at a great cost to the environment.

the company noted.

At the moment, Tesla said it’s looking at accepting other cryptocurrencies that use less than one percent of Bitcoin’s energy. As for its Bitcoin reserve, the company noted that it wouldn’t sell off its holdings. Tesla might resume Bitcoin payments if/when sustainable energy is used for BTC mining activities, according to the notice.

Crypto Twitter Reaction to Tesla’s Decision

Tesla’s announcement to stop accepting Bitcoin sparked mixed feelings for crypto users. Some argued that the decision was only to impress/support their application to enter into the United States’ renewable fuel credit market. 

Whatever be the reason, some people believe it’s for a good cause and that it can influence more usage of renewable energy for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin took a hit after the announcement. About $2 billion USD in BTC futures were liquidated as the cryptocurrency declined below $50,000 USD. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $48,066 on CoinMarketCap.

Related: Two Australians Lose $130,000 To Tesla Scam While Buying The Electric Car Online

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Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrency Tax Europe Investing

Bitcoin Trading Tax In Hungary Drops 50% In 2022 COVID Program

Hungary has had a year rougher than most due to the ongoing pandemic. Looking for ways to attract capital in an effort to get back on their feet, they’ve decided to slash taxes on crypto by half.

While Australia is looking at targetting crypto investors, Hungary is taking the opposite approach, by reducing its crypto taxes.

Crypto Taxes Down To 15% in Hungary

In a video posted on Facebook, Hungarian Finance minister Mihály Varga announced that the taxes on capital gains made through cryptocurrencies would be cut from 30.5% to a mere 15%.

Currently, cryptocurrencies are taxed as “other income” in Hungary, as regulations around Bitcoin and other cryptos are less developed than in other EU states.

However, this tax cut would make Hungary one of the most attractive destinations in the EU for crypto investors, alongside countries such as Germany, whose legislation rewards you for HODLing – if tokens are held for more than a year, cryptocurrency is no longer subject to taxation.

Crypto Tax Rates by Country Comparison

Here’s how Hungarian crypto taxes will measure up to other countries:

AustraliaSubject to CGT rates – up to 47%
USASubject to Property Tax – can be up to 37% in the first year
New ZealandSubject to rates for individuals and businesses
Germany0% if held for over a year – 0 tax if transaction is worth less than 600 EUR and tokens were held for less than a year
Hungary30.5% currently, soon to be reduced to 15%
Italy26%, provided profit is over 51,645.69 EUR for 7 days in a row
Spain19% to 23%
Belgium33%
Denmark55%
Israel30%
UKSubject to UK CGT – Income tax may also apply if trades are done frequently
Argentina15%
France33.33%, to be reduced to 25% in 2022
NetherlandsSubject to progressive income tax
Crypto Tax Rates Per Country

While Hungary may not be as far on the road to crypto adoption as states like Estonia, the country is taking important steps toward becoming crypto-friendly, which should attract fintechs and investors from around the globe.

If you’re in Australia and need some help with your Tax then check out the following guides:

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Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Press Release

StormGain Makes Mining Hardware Obsolete – Crypto Mining Now Available on All Smartphones

For many years, cryptocurrency mining has only been reserved to a select few – those people with enough time and capital willing to invest resources into setting up their own mining rigs. However, cloud mining has been quickly gaining speed, and StormGain’s solution removes the technical barriers from the equation in hopes of creating a more even playing field.

Since miners need to keep several factors in mind, including electricity costs, upkeep and maintenance, and the overall investment return, mining has become less lucrative for the smaller players. StormGain wants to change this narrative, and give everyone the chance to participate in the verification of cryptocurrency transactions, earning a nice income whilst doing so.

Cloud mining is a prevalent trend in the cryptocurrency industry today. However, many providers claim to offer significant yields and fail to deliver on those promises. StormGain is a different breed, as it provides a mobile-based cloud mining solution. Every user can mine cryptocurrency directly from their mobile phone without dealing with the hardware side of things. Mobile app users connect directly to remote cloud servers, allowing StormGain to provide a risk-free and convenient mining solution, incomparable to those offered by other cloud mining service providers.

The first step is to register at StormGain platform using smartphone – or desktop computer for those who prefer that option. StormGain purposely opts for a pain-free registration process to get as many people acquainted with cloud mining as possible. The registration process also involves a lucrative bonus of $5 USDT, delivered directly to users’ mining accounts. The process is simple – upon registering, use the promo code MINER to receive the bonus. After confirming the account, users can begin mining Bitcoin right away by connecting to the cloud mining server, with no impact whatsoever on the smartphone’s performance.

After meeting the minimal $10 USDT profit threshold, users are free to trade and exchange their crypto assets with StormGain. Withdrawal of mined currency is not possible without going through the trading process first, but all profit generated via trading can be transferred out of one’s account at any given time – a fair trade-off.

The trading and exchanging via StormGain is available at 0% commission, with users benefiting from all standard and advanced instruments at their disposal. The service also introduces fiat-based cryptocurrency purchasing for those who want to expand their crypto portfolio quickly and effortlessly.

StromGain has contracted incredible partnerships since its inception, making it the 1# interest rate provider for crypto traders by CoinMarketCap, a member of the well-known Blockchain Association within the Financial Commission, but also a S.S. Lazio official trading partner, and the market’s best cryptocurrency trading & exchange platform, according to The European. To date, StormGain’s trading product notes a 30-day volume of over $6 billion, generated by tens of thousands of traders worldwide.

What sets StormGain apart from other cloud mining providers is how mining rewards are proportional to trading volume. Users with a higher trading volume will earn a higher daily mining income. Mining with StormGain over more extended periods can have a significant impact on one’s profit potential, showcasing huge capital inflows for the most active miners and traders. 

Cloud mining rewards are distributed every 30-40 minutes. Then, users are free to withdraw the funds to their trading accounts, within less than 72 hours. For newcomers, the first mined Bitcoin rewards will become accessible within 4 hours, a feat that is available nowhere else within the cloud mining industry.

About StormGain

As part of its services, StormGain’s cloud mining service effectively removes all entry barriers to the mining market. Consequently, there’s no longer a need to invest in expensive mining chips that take up space, make noise, and consume electricity. Contract prices are inherently small so on-going investments can translate to significant profits over the long term. Since the bitcoin mining service is readily available via the cloud, accessing it via desktop and mobile devices couldn’t be easier, with no hardware and time investments involved.

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Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Crypto Exchange Crypto News Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin Supply Rises After ‘Unprecedented’ Year-Long Decline

Bitcoin coins
Bitcoin coins https://unsplash.com/photos/4KJJezDyo3M

The supply of Bitcoin available on exchanges has risen after a long slide that started more than one year ago.

Data from the blockchain analysis firm Glassnode shows that the balance of Bitcoins on exchanges has experienced a recovery to hit 2,461,801.581 BTC – the highest level in a month.

This rise comes after a supply decline that started in March 2020, when the total balance on exchanges soared to more than 3,000,000.

Over-The-Counter BTC supply decline

In a recent weekly report, Glassnode also found that the Bitcoin supply at Over-The-Counter (OTC) exchanges has declined to just 6,000. OTC desks allow investors to buy crypto without making orders on the public exchange and causing price disruptions.

The total balance held by the three OTC desks we track has continued to decline throughout 2021, reaching local lows of only 6k BTC this week. This suggests demand by larger buyers exceeds available supply at these OTC desks. Furthermore, this trend clearly commenced starting in Dec 2020 at which time miners were distributing heavily. This aligns with the strong growth in institutional interest in the asset as a macro scale investment.

Glassnode

In other words, Glassnode analysis suggests that institutional adoption of Bitcoin has increased, as confirmed by multiple banks and big companies getting involved in the crypto space.

What Does The Drop In Bitcoin Balance On Exchanges Mean?

It is hard to say exactly why the supply on all exchanges has been dropping. Investors may be holding onto their Bitcoins, which could mean that another bull run is on the way.

As previously discussed, it is also important to remember that the Bitcoin protocol include halvings, which by definition reduce the issuance of new coins.

All of the above factors could be linked to the price of Bitcoin (BTC) increasing over the same period to reach a price of around $65,000 AUD.

Post by Guest Author – Jasper Hamill

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Bitcoin Crime Crypto News Cryptocurrencies

Man Pays Hitman In Bitcoin To Kill His Wife

Hitman or assassin holds pistol with silencer in hands
Hitman or assassin holds pistol with silencer in hands https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-hitman-assassin-holds-pistol-silencer-hands-image77972286

A man from Tennessee attempted to hire someone to murder his wife, paying in Bitcoin. Fortunately, his plans have been ruined by the BBC, who promptly informed the authorities.

A Nefarious Crypto Plot

According to FBI Special Agent Clay Anderson, Nelson Replogle allegedly paid Bitcoin to someone in an effort to get rid of his wife. The recipient contact came from a murder-for-hire forum, buried in the more obscure corners of the Internet.

After finding a person allegedly willing to carry out the crime, things were set in motion. The hit on his wife Ann was supposed to be carried out while she was on her way to the veterinarian with their pet.

It is not known how staff members of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) learned of the plot, nonetheless they informed the authorities. The sheriff of Knoxville, TN in turn involved the FBI. Investigations quickly led from the crypto transaction, identified to have happened on Coinbase exchange, to Nelson Replogle – separate warnings have been sent to both him and his wife.

Crypto Transactions Not So Anonymous After All

Cryptocurrency transactions seem to have a degree of anonymity depending on the specific platforms and procedures used. Commercial exchange services require their customers to comply with KYC (Know-Your-Customer) regulation.

That might be the reason why the FBI managed to retrieve a lot of data related to the transaction, including name, photos and bank account of Mr Replogle, as well as a confirmation from the Internet Service Provider that the connection happened from his home.

On the contrary, the identity of the hitman remains a mystery at this stage – possibly due to using a personal wallet, disconnected to exchanges requiring KYC and detached from personally-identifiable information.

Criminal Activities Using Bitcoin

Stories like this one show once more that cryptocurrencies could be used for illegal activities, for example involving drugs or guns. Criminals however don’t seem to always know how blockchain technologies work.

It seems also worth mentioning that the portion of the crypto market used for such purposes is relatively quite small and has dropped significantly over the years.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Institutions

Bitcoin’s Daily Volume Surpasses Mastercard

During this year Bitcoin (BTC) has slowly been creeping closer to the transaction volume that Mastercard has been posting on an average day. In the last month Bitcoin has reached the Mastercard transaction volume average nine times.

It’s impossible to know how far Bitcoin adoption will go. If Bitcoins were accepted as widely as Visa or Mastercard, it could lead to increased use of the network.

At the moment Bitcoin does not process close to as many transactions per day as Mastercard, yet they have reached the same volume multiple times. This means that Bitcoin transactions are larger but fewer whereas Mastercard processes many smaller transactions. If Bitcoin were to process as many transactions as Mastercard their volume would likely be considerably higher.

The Problem of Scaling

One of the issues with Bitcoin at the moment in is that the network only processes about 5 transactions per second (tps) and currently has a physical limit of 7 tps, due to the size-cap of the blocks transactions are stored on. Mastercard can process a whopping 5000 tps.

Bitcoin Transactions Per Second: Blockchain.com

There are various technical reasons as well as policy reasons why Bitcoin can only process so few transactions compared to companies like Mastercard and Visa. It doesn’t look like Bitcoin isn’t trying to become a new Mastercard or Visa. However, Bitcoin SV (BSV) could make it, as BSV’s test network hit a new record of processing over 9000 transactions per second earlier in the year.

Lightning network is also a solution that aims to solve the problem of scalability for Bitcoin, through creating a second layer that only handles small transactions and thereby reducing the load on the blockchain. This is called the off-chain approach.

Cryptos Are Becoming More Popular for Everyday Use

According to Mastercard, 71% of people expect to use cashless services moving forward. This means that electronic methods of payment are becoming increasingly popular, and as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream people might prefer to use them.

Consumers are also increasingly showing interest in being able to spend crypto assets for everyday purchases. As global interest in cryptocurrencies as a payment method continues to accelerate, 4 in 10 people (40%) across North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific say they plan to use cryptocurrency in the next year.

Mastercard Investor Relations [source]

Mastercard has dabbled with blockchain and digital assets a few times:

Categories
Binance Coin Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Dogecoin Ethereum Litecoin Markets Ripple

Top 10 Cryptos Prices in 2016 vs 2021

Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right)
Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right) [CoinMarketCap]

A lot has changed in the cryptocurrency market over the past five years. There have been many coin ranking reshuffles, with massive growth in the global market capitalization as more people got to know and invest in digital currencies.

Back in 2016, the top-ten digital currencies by market capitalization (according to data from CoinMarketCap) and their corresponding prices were:

  1. Bitcoin (BTC) at $455.25 USD
  2. Ethereum (ETH) at $9.82 USD
  3. Ripple (XRP) at $0.006069 USD
  4. Litecoin (LTC) at $3.98 USD
  5. Dash (DASH) at $6.89 USD
  6. DigixDAO (DGD) at $12.17 USD
  7. Dogecoin (DOGE) at $0.000233 USD
  8. MaidSafeCoin (MAID) at $0.052008 USD
  9. NEM (XEM) at $0.001491 USD
  10. FedoraCoin (TIPS) at $0.000029 USD

At the time, Bitcoin was only a three-digit price cryptocurrency ($455 USD), with a total market valuation of $7.075 billion USD. Also, Ethereum was less than $10 USD, while XRP traded around $0.006 USD, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right)
Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right) [CoinMarketCap]

As of May 2016, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization was $8.449 billion USD.

Crypto total market capitalization [CoinMarketCap]

The Crypto Market is up by Over 29,000% Since 2016

Fast forward to today, the crypto market has seen immense growth of over 29,000 percent in the market cap – in other words, more than 290 times. The total valuation of global cryptocurrencies now sits around $2.47 trillion USD compared to $8.4 billion USD cap in the past five years. This follows the wake of more retail and institutional investors.

The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) saw over a 12,300 percent increase from 2016 to date, with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion USD. This means that a $100 USD investment in BTC over the past five years would be worth more than $12,000 USD in today’s value. At the same time, the second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH) surged by over 41,000 percent, which is a much higher return compared to Bitcoin.

Some of the top-ten coins in 2016 are no longer ranking high on the list today, including DigixDAO and FedoraCoin. It remains to be seen how the list will change in the next five years. Do you think Bitcoin and Ethereum can be overthrown by the likes of Binance Coin (BNB) or even Dogecoin (DOGE)?